


This Will End In Flames

by Ellienerd14



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Charlie also deserves better, Illness, M/M, Matteusz deserves better, Other, Tanya and Quill to the rescue, That on brand title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 13:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12170202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellienerd14/pseuds/Ellienerd14
Summary: Faced with a difficult decision after the governors poison him, Matteusz choses to save Charlie's life even at the cost of his own. But even if he was trying for a day that would remind him why Charlie's life was so important, the increasing pain made it more difficult.~"Love is dangerous," his babcia had told him last year. "Not just because your heart breaks but because you let it." She was right (she often was). Charlie was a light in his life but it was at the cost of a lot of darkness. (Quite literally, considering the Shadow Kin.)Matteusz picked up his boyfriends pillow and held it to his face. It smelt comforting (with a hint of vanilla). He wiped his eyes. He would be brave, he promised himself. For Charlie he would be brave.





	This Will End In Flames

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gallifrey_gal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifrey_gal/gifts).



> All the symptoms Matteusz shows are researched to be actual signs of poisoning.

**Five hours left**

"I would have done the same." Ram's words were of little comfort to him but Matteusz still made the effort to smile weakly.

"So would have Charlie," Matteusz replied. "That's why he's upset. He doesn't like self sacrifice from anyone else."

"It was a pretty stupid thing to keep to yourself," Ram said.

"I thought you were here to comfort me in my dying hours."

He frowned in response. "No one is dying today."

No matter how hard he tried, Matteusz couldn't believe him.

* * *

 

**Twenty-two hours left**

There was something about the sharp pain in his head that let Matteusz know he had been knocked out. He touched the back of his head gently and sent a ripple of fresh pain which made him wince. That must have been where he was hit.

 _But by who?_ It could be a normal London mugging. Which Matteusz might have believed if any of the recent events in his life were close to  _normal_. The ground beneath him was hard and uncomfortable but not wet. It had been raining when he had left the house earlier. But he couldn't tell how long he has been unconscious for.

Matteusz reached in his coat pocket and was glad to find his phone there. The battery percentage has dropped down to twenty percent. Wherever he was had no signal. According to his now cracked phone screen, only an hour and a half had passed since he left the house. And Charlie had send him a text an hour ago, so he couldn't have been whenever he was for longer than that. What had happened to him in that time?

His vision was still a little fuzzy but Matteusz still made the effort to stand up. The room started to blur into grey and he reached out for the wall behind him to steady himself. It must have been a good hit if his head was still spinning. That thought didn't help his optimism that he could escape.

Matteusz managed to focus enough to make out the rest of the room. It had high concrete walls and had no furniture apart from a slightly ominous looking metal table and chair pushed in the corner. He tried not to focus on that. The real question was how to get out. There wasn't any windows or doors.

Or so Matteusz thought. He had been leaning on a wall for support and touched the cold metal of a handle.

It was unlocked and opened easily with a simple push. It should have been a relief but Matteusz couldn't help but suspect that something more sinister was at play. At Coal Hill, it won't be a surprise.

"Awake?" Dorothea Ames stood on the other side of the door. "I was starting to worry I'd hit you too hard."

"You were the one to knock me out?"

"It's only fair. Now we're even." Dorothea smiled sinisterly. "Would you like to meet the Governors?"

"Why?"

"They have an interesting proposition for you."

"I do not trust you." Their new headteacher was sketchy at best. And Matteusz was still angry at her for threatening him (and even more so for threatening Charlie).

She gave him a knowing look. "This way."

Matteusz was reluctant to follow her but there was no alternate way out. If he was in the school, it wasn't a part he had been before. The corridor was long and winding and he was glad to have a guide, even if it was a shifty one.

She stopped in front of a large ornate door and knocked sharply on it. There was no reply other than a single knock from the inside. It was clearly a sign they were allowed inside as Dorothea produced a key and unlocked it.

The room had a simple desk with four chairs around it. Two were occupied by men in dark suits and with blank expressions. Dorothea took the seat between them, leaving a single chair opposite them. Matteusz took it hesitantly, he had no reason to trust any of them. In fact, the bump on the back of his head was reason enough not to.

"We have a proposition for you."

"You expect me to agree to help you? When you pointed a gun at me and tried to force Charlie into killing?"

"You consider using the Cabinet on flowers as murder? How  _fascinating_ ," Dorothea commented. She was the only who had spoken so far.

"We don't," the man to her left said. His voice was low and laced with menace.

"Don't what?"

"We don't expect you to agree to help us. That is why we took matters into our own hands," Dorothea said.

 _Do you know the feeling of dread? It follows me everywhere._ Charlie had confessed weeks ago. Matteusz knew exactly what he meant now. His stomach felt heavy.

"What have you done?"

"We know you are familiar with the rift."

"Considering the amount of times it's tried to kill us? Yes."

Dorothea reached in her pocket and pushed an empty vial towards him. It had droplets of a clear liquid caught in the bottom.

"This vial used to contain a substance we created from chemicals taken from flora in the rift. We call it 'venenum'."

"I do not know what that means."

Her smile was becoming unnerving. "Not a Latin speaker? It is a dying language. 'Venenum' translates to poison."

Suddenly their plan became perfectly clear. "Why is it empty?"

"We took the liberty of injecting it into your system. The Governors felt like you wouldn't be willing to help us with that aspect of the deal."

Matteusz shook his head. "This is no deal."

"Based off our research, the venenum takes twenty four hours to kill you. The pain will continue to increase during this time."

"You are sick," he told them angrily. Research? He tried to remember if any students had been missing lately but his mind was too full of clouds already.

"Ironic use of words there Matteusz," Dorothea replied. "But we created an antidote too. One we will happily hand over if you agree to help us."

"Whatever you want from me, I'm not going to like it." He frowned. "What do you want from Charlie?"

"You have quite the brain Matteusz. I'm sure it would benefit us all if it kept working tomorrow."

"Your boyfriend is of interest to the Governors. We have done enough research from afar. We require... a closer inspection," her second associate spoke for the first time.

"Is not that simple. Or you would not hurt me. Would not need to."

Dorothea looked almost proud he'd worked it out. It made him feel sick. (Maybe that was the venenum.) "I'm sure you can work out our proposition."

He could. If Matteusz got Charlie to agree to their tests, they would give him the annotate. Charlie was so selfless that there was no doubt he would. "I will not let you harm him."

"Let the venenum do its job first."

Dorothea checked her watch. "Shame. It would be more dramatic if you had twenty four hours. But I'll give you twenty two. Tell Charlie his choice."

* * *

 

**Twenty-one hours left**

Matteusz couldn't tell if it was the hit on the head or the venenum but it took him longer than usual to get home. The walk from Coal Hill to their house was at most fifteen minutes (they took a longer route to avoid passing his old home) but with his mind swimming it took twice as long.

"Finally, you're back," Charlie said. He had been waiting on the steps by the door, staring at his phone. "You've been gone for hours."

"Is okay, I just went the wrong way. My phone died." The latter part was true at least.

"Did something happen?" Charlie asked. "You look anxious."

 _Matteusz was anxious_. He swallowed it and smiled. "Was worried about getting back to you."

It was clearly the right thing to say because Charlie lit up. He leaned up on his tiptoes (adorable) and wrapped his arms around Matteusz' neck. Which had all the potential to go well if he hadn't been hit there.

He winced as a wave of sharp pain hit him at Charlie's touch.

"What's wrong?" He steeped away. "Turn around."

There was no point arguing. He didn't know exactly how bad the injury was but it was enough for Charlie to gasp.

"Why didn't you tell me you hurt yourself?" He demanded.

"I didn't want you to be worrying."

"Come here." Charlie dragged him by the hand into the living room. "Sit down. I'll clean your head."

He returned with a towel and first aid kit. Charlie gently cleaned off the blood and positioned a plaster on the back of his head.

"What happened?" He asked in a softer voice. They had shifted into a position where Matteusz was resting on his shoulder and Charlie was running his fingers though his hair. It was relaxing, which his boyfriend knew. "Why were you really late?" 

"I hit my head on the pavement."

"Don't lie to me," Charlie said. "You couldn't have hurt your head like that from the pavement. Why won't you tell me?"

"I can't remember," Matteusz lied. (It was part of the truth. He didn't remember being hit. But he knew who had done it.)

"You could have mentioned your head hurt."

"You would be worrying. I did not want that."

Charlie bit his lip. Usually he was above such habits. "You don't remember  _anything_?" He pressed.

"No." It felt mean to lie to him but it was necessary. If Charlie knew the truth, there was no doubt in his mind that he would do what he felt was the right thing.

Matteusz couldn't let Charlie give himself up. He meant the world to him. They were finding a way together. Matteusz couldn't be responsible for him getting hurt. He was terrified of what the effects of the venenum would do to him but even more terrified of what life without Charlie was like.

He wasn't going to find out. Even at the cost of his own life.

* * *

 

**Nineteen hours left**

Matteusz had been holding onto the hope that it was a trick. But two hours later and it was clear the venenum was starting to affect him. His head felt heavy and he couldn't shake the feeling of drowsiness.

"I made you some tea."

"Thanks."

Charlie had been fussing over him since he'd returned. Matteusz wished he wouldn't: it was only adding to his guilt.

"Are you still not better?"

"I can not get better in a few hours." In fact he'd get worse, if what the Governors had told him was accurate.

"I feel useless. I just want your pain to go away," Charlie admitted. "It's like when you got the cold. That scared me."

"Is not your fault," he told Charlie. (Maybe it was but he couldn't admit that to himself.)

"You mean so much to me."

Matteusz had to drop his gaze. "I... how did you say it? I wish for you."

Charlie smiled. (He only smiled that way for him. It was the kind of smile that made Matteusz wish he was good at art so he could paint and frame it.) "I wish for you too."

"You are making me blush."

"Good." Charlie kissed the back of his hand. He was stupidly old fashioned and romantic like that. Matteusz wasn't going to complain. "It means you're happy. That is my wish."

Matteusz wished, more than anything, that they could be happy together. He was going to guarantee that, even if it was just for one day.

* * *

 

**Eighteen hours left**

Matteusz' symptoms were starting to worsen. His headache was still painful and now he was to get uncomfortably hot. He had googled symptoms of poisoning and if the internet could be trusted, it seemed like the worse was still to come.

Matteusz didn't want to die. He was terrified of the concept. Part of him still believed in God, in the same hopeful way Charlie clung to the Cabinet of Souls. Surely dying to save Charlie's life was the kind of selfless act that guaranteed a place in heaven but his parents had left him unsure of that.

He didn't want Charlie to die either. The group could survive without him but if Charlie died, so would Quill and they'd lose their two best fighters. The other three could hold off whatever the rift spawned for a while but not forever.

He shouldn't have to justify his sacrifice. But when the way to end his pain, to be safe and save himself, was so  _easy,_ he felt like he had to.

He held onto Charlie's hand. It was cool to touch and a nice contrast to his own warmth. And it reminded him what he was doing was worth it.

* * *

 

**Seventeen hours left**

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

Charlie put down his pen. He had been trying to do homework but it was clear he was still on edge. "Okay. Where do you want to go?"

"Promise not to laugh?" Matteusz asked. He nodded. "I have never been on the London Eye before."

"Why would I laugh at that?" Charlie asked. "I don't know what that is."

"Is a famous landmark. It's like a big ferris wheel. I always wanted to go on it."

Charlie picked up his phone, presumingly looking it up. "I like the lights."

"I have seen it lit up."

"Could we go at night?" He asked. "Then we could see the stars better. They're different here but I like looking at them. The night sky is similar to the one on Rhodia."

"Yeah." He had time. It was already starting to get dark outside. "Like a date?"

"I like that idea," Charlie replied. "I'll book tickets online."

"Thank you."

"Why now?" He asked a moment later. "You've lived in London for two years haven't you?"

"My mother does not like heights. And we had better things to spend money on. But I thought it would be fun."

"Some parts of Earth are so beautiful."

"I like London too."

"I was talking about  _you_."

* * *

 

**Fifteen hours left**

The sun was still setting when they finally left. Lucky his symptoms hadn't worsen beyond a sudden loss of appetite which he hid by pretending it was a side effect of the headache. Charlie didn't know enough about human biology to be suspicious.

It still felt wrong to be hiding such a big secret from his boyfriend. Even if it was for Charlie's own good. Quill had seemed suspicious earlier but hadn't said anything. She tried to avoid talking to Charlie at all and usually spoke to Matteusz directly if she wanted something from him. She hadn't pressed the topic, even when Charlie mentioned he was ill. She had shrugged it off and returned to her room with snacks and coffee.

It was a relief to finally leave the house. The crisp air helped him cool down a little.

Charlie held his hand as they wandered through the street. He hadn't understood why people did that until Matteusz had explained it and showed him. Since then, Charlie always reached for his hand out of instinct. It broke Matteusz' heart that it could be one of the last times they did hold hands.

"You look sad," Charlie commenting, pulling him from his thoughts.

"I was thinking about you." Matteusz liked to pretend that if he admitted little truths to him, it made the big truth he wasn't telling him less big.

"I thought I made you happy?"

"You do. I was just thinking you must have been lonely at home."

Charlie looked away, even if he had seen his shoes before. "Yeah. I was. I just wanted someone to be with. So you were a wish come true."

"Did you do a lot of wishing?"

"Yeah."

They walked in silence, standing a little closer together than before.

"I love you," Charlie said.

"I love you too."

That was its own kind of promise. Wishes and love were enough to put a smile back on Matteusz' face but it wasn't an antidote. He played pretend.

* * *

 

**Fourteen hours left**

They got lost on the way to the London Eye. It was a small relief when they finally spotted the blue lights and a bigger one when they found the queue.

It was a long wait but not a boring one. Talking to Charlie was as easy as breathing. It was hard to enjoy it when a dark part of his brain kept reminding him he only had so much time to spend with him left.

Kissing Charlie always made his brain shut up, so Matteusz pulled him close. It worked because everything melted away when they were that close and that lost in each other.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing. You just look cute in the light."

Charlie blushed. "You're romantic."

It was a small reassurance to have him close. He still couldn't forget about the Governors threat or the effects of the venenum which still ran through his veins, intent on causing him agony. But for the sake of enjoying the little time he had left with the boy he loved, Matteusz ignored the fact it would end in flames.

When they finally got to the front of the queue and onto the London Eye, Charlie seemed more excited than he was. It was good because Matteusz knew he could suffer from panic attacks if Charlie got too claustrophobic. The best way to avoid that was to distract him. And the whole point of the trip was a distraction after all.

They stood and stared out the glass, away from the rest of the tourists.

"It's pretty," Charlie said, his hand pressed against the glass.

"We aren't even at the top yet."

"Thank you for suggesting this. I think you should be in charge of all future dates."

It was going to be their last date.

"You should draw the view," he suggested, swiftly changing the subject. "I know you find it relaxing."

Charlie nodded and took a picture, assumingly for reference.

The view was beautiful. The city was lit up at night, the golden glow of neon lights making the toy city that shrunk as the wheel turned look stunning. The clearness of the sky helped too, they could see the stars.

Charlie loved stars.

Matteusz felt suddenly overwhelmed by anger. He hated the Governors for using him like a chess piece to get to Charlie. He hated his parents for making their last conversation one that gave him nightmares. He hated himself for making the brave decision and lying to Charlie to keep it.

He moved from the window and sat down on the bench. Charlie followed him a minute later, touching his shoulder. The light touch was enough for Matteusz to forget being angry and just feel heartbroken. He loved Charlie; that was why he was so upset.

"What's up?"

"I do not want to talk about it."

Charlie sat next to him and leant on his shoulder. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not you."

"I thought you were happy."

He sighed, all irrationality gone. "So did I."

* * *

 

**Twelve hours left**

Half his time was gone.

Matteusz had been trying to avoid thinking about the invisible countdown that the Governors had put above his head. However, he couldn't ignore it forever. He was just going to get sicker and sicker. The only way to stop it wasn't an opinion. It could never be an opinion to let Charlie face danger to save himself.

 _"Love is dangerous,"_ his babcia had told him last year.  _"Not just because your heart breaks but because you let it."_ She was right (she often was). Charlie was a light in his life but it was at the cost of a lot of darkness. (Quite literally, considering the Shadow Kin.)

Matteusz picked up his boyfriends pillow and held it to his face. It smelt comforting (with a hint of vanilla).

Matteusz wiped his eyes.  _He would be brave,_ he promised himself.  _For Charlie he would be brave._

* * *

 

**Eleven hours left**

It wasn't until he had changed into his pyjamas that Matteusz noticed the long scratch on his arm. It was surrounded by streaks of dried blood that his long sleeved T-shirt had been concealing from most of the day. After he'd washed off the remaining dry blood, he noticed it was only a small cut.

He froze when he realised where the cut had come from. It hadn't been there earlier but neither had the lump on his head. It must have been where the venenum was put into his system.

The imagine was horrifying.

Matteusz was stuck again with anger at the unfairness of the whole situation. His life had more worth than dating Charlie. That was important to him but he was more than just Charlie's boyfriend. How was any of it fair?

He tried not to think who would be the next target of the Governors. None of them deserved to be put in that role.

The world was unfair and slamming doors only helped so much.

* * *

 

**Ten hours left**

Between the gut wrenching agony in his stomach and the endless headaches and nausea, Matteusz couldn't sleep. The guilt didn't really help.

Charlie was asleep. Rhodians must need less sleep than humans because usually Charlie seemed to cope of four hours a night. He was good at keeping quiet. All the anxiety over his whereabouts must have worn him out.

It probably was creepy to stare at him when he slept but Matteusz reasoned that it was only fair for him to take in as much as Charlie's beauty while he had the chance. He was  _beautiful_  (even if most boys didn't like the word) and had soft skin and pretty cheekbones. There was other less superficial things Matteusz loved about him too but he didn't see the issue in thinking his boyfriend looked like art.

He loved Charlie so much. Matteusz brushed back his blond fringe. He half opened his eyes, not quite awake.

"Hey," he said sleepily.

"I just wanted to say I love you."

Charlie smiled, his eyes already closed again. He looked so peaceful. "I love you too. Goodnight." 

After a minute his breathing slowed down. Matteusz watched him sleep for a few more minutes before getting up.

As far as he was concerned _, 'I love you'_ were great last words to say to him.

He just wished they weren't.

* * *

 

**Nine hours left**

Matteusz had moved to lie down on the sofa downstairs. It was awful to think he wouldn't survive to morning but he had to face it. He could feel himself getting sicker by the minute. The Governors were right to assume he'd be desperate to make all the pain go away. But they had underestimated his love for Charlie.

He thought it would be best to save him the trauma of waking up to find him dead. It was the kind of thing that haunted people and even if Charlie said Rhodians didn't dream ("I'm lucky in that sense, if I dreamt, I know it would end in shadow and blood.") it would surely cause horrific nightmares.

He had started coughing blood. That was the most painful symptom of the venenum so far. He suppressed the urge to google what coughing blood meant to his body and instead tried to focus on the task of writing Charlie a letter. It was hard to focus on the paper because his vision kept blurring - not as a result of the venenum but because he kept crying.

There wasn't the right words to say goodbye. He tried to find them anyway.

_Dear Charlie,_   
_I know you will be-_

He coughed blood onto the notebook and screwed up the page. He'd start again. If it was goodbye, it would have to be a perfect one. He owed Charlie that much.

* * *

 

**Seven hours left**

Matteusz didn't remember falling asleep but he woke up from an uncomfortable nap on the desk at half two. He hadn't figured out why he'd awoken so suddenly until his stomach lurched again and he felt sick. He threw up upstairs, which must have woken up Charlie because he wondered into the bathroom a minute later, hair messy and clearly worried.

"Are you okay?"

He shook his head, shaking and sick of lying. "No, no. I am very ill."

His must have given away the seriousness of the situation because Charlie somehow managed to look even more worried. "Tell me."

Matteusz had been trying to hide it all day but he didn't have the energy to lie anymore. He was sick of pretending to be okay and he felt every part of him suffer. He couldn't keep it quiet.

He touched the back of his head.

"Who did this? How?"

He only had the energy for short answers. "Dorothea."

"Hey, hey." Charlie put his arm around Matteusz' waist as he started to sway. "Come here, sit down."

With Charlie's help, Matteusz sat at the end of their bed. The room was starting to blur again.

"Please, tell me how to help you."

"You can't!" Matteusz protests with the little energy he had. "Promise me you will not. They'll hurt you."

"Who will?" Charlie asked. "You know something you haven't told me. Tell me,  _please_."

It was the desperation in his voice that made Matteusz break his promise to himself. "The Governors did this?"

"They made you sick?" He asked. "Why... how?" He seemed lost for words.

"Poison."

The comforting hand on his back dropped. "No."

"I didn't want to tell you."

Charlie stood up from the bed and took a deep breath. "Why wouldn't you? Why would you let yourself just get sicker and sicker and sicker? I could have helped you already? You don't know what the poison could do to you? What if... I can't even consider that possibility."

"Charlie..."

"I need to wake up Quill and call the others. We'll find a way to fix you."

It was his confidence more than the empty promise that broke his heart. 

* * *

 

**Six hours left**

It was clear that Charlie had told the rest of them what had happened because when the showed up, they weren't complaining about being woken up at three am or sneaking out. And no one looked him in the eyes.

"What do we know?" Tanya had taped a piece of paper to the wall and was making notes.

Charlie gave her a list of his symptoms. He had noticed more than Matteusz had thought: mentioning the lack of appetite and his drowsiness and dizziness as well as the more obvious symptoms.

Tanya wrote them all down in black sharpie pen in a list under the title of 'symptoms'. She added a new column labelled 'causes' and looked at him expectingly.

"What happened? Something must have happened between you leaving the house in the morning and you coming home with a bloody head and poison in your veins."

"It was the Governors," he said. There was no point hiding it. "I woke up and I was in a part of the school I had not seen. It was weird... grey and dark. No windows."

"Maybe you were underneath the building?" Tanya suggested, adding detail to the list.

"I think so? My head was cloudy then."

"How long ago was this?" April asked. She had been quiet before, sitting in the corner and biting her nails.

"Around seventeen hours ago? If they were right when they said I had twenty four hours."

Charlie had a permanent frown. "What do you mean by twenty four hours?"

The room fell silent.

"No," Tanya said. "They gave you a time frame?"

"What does it mean?" Charlie demanded. "Twenty four hours till what?"

"Till I die," Matteusz said because no one else would.

"Hang on," Tanya said, starting to write  out math in the corner of her makeshift whiteboard. "If you have had seventeen of the original twenty four hours, that gives you..."

"Seven at most," Ram finished. "You didn't want to do anything! What were you planning to do, just die?"

Silence fell.

"No, Matteusz no!"

"Charlie," April said gently, touching his arm.

"Why?" Tanya questioned. "What could they say to you that would mean you wouldn't say anything?"

Matteusz glanced at Charlie. "There is an antidote."

"On what conditions?"

"They want Charlie to turn himself to them. I do not know what they wanted but it was an implied death sentence. Is safer to not say a word."

Charlie wiped his eyes. "You can't expect me to let you die."

"I can't let you die either!"

"How about no one dies?" Quill cut in. "Goddess help me, you two are stupid. There's clearly a simpler option."

"Oh..." Tanya underlined the word antidote and nodded at Quill. "She's right."

"They already have an antidote. We just need to steal it. No bargaining needed. You need some military thinking."

"They wouldn't just let you steal it."

"That is how theft work Ram." Quill crossed her arms. "I hope this isn't going to foreshadow your A-level results."

"Fine." Charlie stood up. "Does the intense emotional trauma I'm going through count for the arhn?"

"Should do." Quill stood up. "I'm getting changed. Sort out the tactics yourself."

Tanya started writing messily. "Okay... So if the Governors are waiting for us, it should be easy to find their evil lair. What part of the school were you in?"

"I can't remember much. But I came out the side gate. And there was a stair case near the door?" The details were still fuzzy.

"I'm sure we can find it," Tanya replied. Matteusz wondered if she was really that confident or if she was faking it to help him feel better. He wasn't sure if it was working - he still felt helpless, even with all the action taking place.

"We better," Charlie says darkly. He didn't even look at Matteusz as he followed Quill upstairs. April and Ram exchanged uneasy looks. Matteusz just closed his eyes and hoped it would be over soon.

* * *

 

**Five hours left**

"Please don't let himdo anything stupid."

Tanya nodded. "Don't worry."

"I am worried. He has not looked at me. I think Charlie is angry at me."

"I have the right to be angry." Charlie was stood at the top of the stairs. "You didn't even tell me." 

" _Charlie_." April pulled on his arm. "Is it really the time?"

"Yes. You know that you're the only person I have left. You know that you're the only person who has ever cared about me! And yet-"

"Seriously, drop it."

He ignored her. "You were going to let me find you dead with no answer and no way to help you. And if you think a life alone when the only - literally the only! - person who has ever loved me was gone is better than dying then you're wrong." Charlie paused and wiped his eyes. "And-"

"Stop!" April shouted. (It was lucky their neighbours were away.) She pulled him away from Matteusz. Charlie was strong enough to pull away but he let her. All the fight was give from his eyes. "We'll wait outside."

"Teen angst." Quill and Tanya followed them outside. "Try not to die in the time we're out."

The house was suddenly silent after the other four left. Ram had stayed behind in case he got any worse. He joined him by the window a moment later.

"I would have done the same." Ram's words were of little comfort to him but Matteusz still made the effort to smile weakly.

"So would have Charlie," Matteusz replied. "That's why he's upset. He doesn't like self sacrifice from anyone else."

"It was a pretty stupid thing to keep to yourself," Ram said.

"I thought you were here to comfort me in my dying hours."

He frowned in response. "No one is dying today."

No matter how hard he tried, Matteusz couldn't believe him. "That isn't how it feels."

"You think Charlie will let you die?"

"No. That's why I am worrying."

Ram frowned at the ghost of his reflection in the window. "You think he'd give himself up?"

"I would hate myself if he did."

"That's why you let yourself suffer?"

"If it's me or him... I put Charlie first. Every time."

* * *

 

**Four hours left**

After an hour had passed, Matteusz was starting to get even more anxious. He had thrown up a further three times since and his all day headache felt even worst. Ram had been texting April but hadn't gotten any reply. He was looking at his screen like he could will her to reply to his messages.

"There is not signal down there. Otherwise I would have called for help."

"Right, of course," he muttered. "Sorry, I'm worrying about April not texting me back and you are literally dying for your boyfriend."

"Is fine. Trying not to think about that part anyway."

Ram put his phone away. "Why do we do such stupid things for the people we love?"

"Because we love them."

"Yeah." Ram half-smiled. "I jumped into the Shadow realm for her."

"Not a competition."

"I never said it was," Ram protested. "Oh, you were joking."

"Yeah." Matteusz closed his eyes and breathed out. The feeling of a knife twisting in his gut took him by surprise. "I hope they're back soon."

"For your sake, so do I."

"I-" The sharp pain returned. It was starting to blur his vision even worse. It felt like he might collapse. He didn't even pick up Ram's voice as he lost consciousness completely.

* * *

 

**Meanwhile**

"Jokes about the whole evil lair aside, this is a nightmare room." Tanya kept searching the lab. Among neatly stacked files and glass vials was the antidote. She was determined to find it.

"Tell me about it," April agreed. "This must have been where they made the poison. That's just messed up."

"I hope Matteusz is okay," Tanya said. "And that whatever Quill and Charlie's distraction is works."

April pulled on a cabinet labelled 'project MA01'. It was locked. "I think this is it."

"Do you think 'MA01' refers to Matteusz? It is is his initials."

"Seems like it," April answered. "And it's locked."

"Can you pick locks? Where's Quill when you need her?" (She was in the process of kicking in a door.)

"I can try." April picked up some golden coloured wire from the desk and pushed in the lock. "No..."

"Crazy idea but could you use a sword to break it?"

"I lost those abilities."

Tanya rummaged through her backpack. "Here's an idea." She held up a knife.

"Why-"

"Quill's idea," Tanya answered. She pushed the knife into a thin gap by the door. After a tense minute there was a click and the door swung open.  _"Result!"_

"This is it." April pulled out serval vials full of clear liquid. There was also a pile of research. "The vials are all labelled: V1, V3, V7... how many did different poisons did they make?"

"Just one. These are all different versions. 'V11... lasts twenty four hours... extreme headaches... predicted eighty percentage chance of success'," Tanya read out some notes.

"There's no V11 here. That must be the one that was used on Matteusz."

Tanya flipped though the papers. "What about an antidote?"

"Anything on a 'R1'? That's the only other option."

"Hang on..." Tanya picked up the final sheet. "Is there a 'R2', that's the antidote."

"No. Dorothea must have the antidote on her."

"Okay, well grab 'R1' then. That's the closest thing. It works but takes three hours."

"How much time do we have?"

"Four." Tanya stuffed the folder research into her back and pocketed the antidote. "They'll know we were here."

"Yeah, if Matteusz doesn't die."

"Nothing to lose then," Tanya says cheerfully. She swept the other vials of poison onto the floor where they all shattered. "We should run."

Luckily the hallways were empty but the girls didn't stop until they had reached their aggressive agreed meeting point: the main entrance of the school.

"Where are Quill and Charlie?"

"Do you think they're in trouble?"

"Hopefully not," Tanya answered. "There's a bigger issue. We need to get the antidote to Matteusz."

"But we can't leave the school without the others."

"If Charlie gets desperate he might give himself up."

"Okay, idea. I run to their house. You stay here and wait for Quill and Charlie."

"I think it's our only option." Tanya but her lip. "But you have to get there in twenty minutes."

April nodded. "I'll get there in time."

"You better."

* * *

**Four hours after**

When Matteusz opened his eyes again, he was alone on the bed with a clear head.

"Charlie?"

"He's asleep downstairs." April leant in the doorframe. She was wearing the same clothes she was last night - crumpled jeans and a baggy white jumper on top - so she must have spent the night. Which meant it was morning.

"I am not dead."

"That was on me. I gave you the antidote."

Matteusz shifted into a sitting position. "Thank you."

"It was actually pretty easy to steal the antidote. You didn't have to suffer at all."

"I didn't know it would be easy. I thought that the minute Charlie found out he would throw himself into danger without-"

"It's okay," April cut him off. "Really. I understand why you did it."

"Do you think he will talk to me?" Matteusz asked. "He was so angry yesterday."

"He cares about you. And you really scared him. Charlie came back after you had passed out and I think it was his worst nightmare."

"The governors will be angry with us."

"Well, Tanya did ruin all the research they put into murdering you. But we're going to stay together. They won't get away with this."

Matteusz risked standing up. "Can I wake him up?"

"I think he'll want to see you." April checked her phone. "I need to go anyway. Ram and Tanya went home last night but my Mum is going to go nuts."

"Good luck."

April smiled. "Yeah, you too. Charlie will forgive you. Life's too short."

* * *

 

**Five hours after**

By the time he had showered and gotten changed, April was gone and Charlie was awake.

Matteusz had expected him to shout again. But it seemed like all the anger was gone because all Charlie did was hug him tightly. "Please, don't scare me like that again."

"I promise."

With the countdown that had hung over him the last day finally gone, Matteusz couldn't help but look at Charlie and think he was a good thing to live for.

"I am sorry to scare you."

"I can't imagine my life without you in it. Yesterday... you knew you could have died but you still spent the whole day with me."

"You are the most important thing to me. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Charlie leant up to kiss him. "Stay alive for me."

It was an offer he couldn't refuse. No matter what the Governors would try, they would stay together.

They weren't going to end in flames. They weren't going to end at all.

That was a promise Matteusz intended to keep.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't been writing as much partly because I'm still mad about it being canceled and also because I'm back at school (it's my GCSE year).
> 
> Please help me out by commenting on my works. I spent ages on this one through research, reading and editing. Let me know what you thought!


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